Case Information

*1 OFFICE OFTHEA-ITORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS

AUSTIN

Hon. '&nlcy 'Pimmloe

county i:t.tofney

JiazTisca county XarshaU., Texas

IO UOOCJ 8X- undur the 5.0 used for storage, office, bookkeeping I!ighvmy i%parttTsent, bolongln~ to the all trucks, GrGc- equipant bel~ori- "T'ha purchaaa of the real antate end warehouse mod in the ~cxxl I:. %ic&o yecart- nent wco paid out of end frown the Eoad &?

&iAg6 Punds end is cexrlod in the cost ao- oountin-7 systcn nonthly stntemntn WIA b:!lonce 8f;,eotS and anntia~ roportn of the %ed &. 2rfgqe

1.85 HOI+ Stanley Timmine, Pago 2

em capital outlay,

“The tax rate set by the Oommissloners’ Court for the Road E Bridge Fund is and has been for many years at St5 oonntitutional limit of 3O$ on tho 3100.00 vnluatlon of taxa- ble property.

“The tax rate in the Permanent T~TQI~OVC- rent Fund set by the Co!w:issj.onera* Court for the past sovercl years has been some nomlnzal’rate to t&e oare of thn additions and repairs to the Ccunty Courthouse and County Jail vrhioh purpose and enticipation has been incorporated end refleotod by the budgets of Harrison County shoMng the purposes for the Piling and lsvyins of this nomlnal rote in the Permanent Improverent Fund.

“The tax rate so fixed and levied for t.he year 1939 and the tax rates for prior years were fixed and levied by the Commis- Honors’ Court for the purpose and antlcipa- tlon only of additions and repairs to the Ccunty Courthouse and the County Jail and ,for no other purpose and there does not exist at this time any surplus OX bnlanae in tho Permanent Jmprovanent Fund over and above the smounts to be used in antioipation of the above mentioned additions and repairs to the county Courthouse and County aall,

“It furthor appears that there is now in the permanent improvement fund of thia OOuntY, $3,800 with no outstand1nq debts or olaina.

HAt tho tir.e of writing, the count wviohes to make some rcreirs tot he building entailing an expenditure of ebo.:.t $2,000 they consid0~- ing 6cm.e 0 valuable improvement and neccssary ;,” ;$nebest Interest of the G~nty thnt same

IA . Therefora, the questiou as to paying for same out of tho ~ermnnent improvement Funds of EIarrison Ccuntjr, Texas?” *3 seotfon e of’ the Texas constitu- 9 of Artiole

tlon reads a8 follor~s: “The %x&e tax on proprty, eXalUSiVe to pay the public debt, tax necessary of the and of the taxes prOViC?ed for the benefit

of the public tree dchoolo, shall. never ex- ooed thirty-five cents on the one hundred +llars valuation; and no oounty, city or town shall levy Ip.ore than twenty-ffvo cents for oity or county purposes, and notexoxoedd- lng fifteen not exoeodi.ng fiftoez cents for:rgaW ana brideea, an8

cent0 to pay jurors,

on tho one hunclrod dollars valuation, cx-

ocpt for the paymmt of debts incurrad prior to ths adoption of the ar,endm?nt 8optember Wth,' 1383) and for the erection of pub1l.o buildings, strecto, sewera, water works sud other permunent improvments, not to mooed twenty-flvo cents on ths one hun&red dollars valwtlon, In tiny one year, and axcopt as is in this Constitution othcmiso provided; and the Legialmtuye my also authorize an addi- tionnl annual a6 valorm tax to bc levied

'and oolleoted for tho further Ir,aintenanoe of the public roadnr provided, that a majority of the @mlifiod property tax-paying votors of the county vctinc at an electicn to be held for that purgosc shall vote such tax, not to exoeecl fifteen oents on~tho one hun&xed dollars valuation of tie property gubjeot, to taxation

in such county. AM the Qgislature my pass locnl Laws for the naintcnance of the public roads and hl&ways, without the i;c~~l notice required for speak1 or local

r"

Article Z531, Vernon's Civil Statut~oo, setting forth the powers .&?d duties of the oomiasionnml court, reads in part as follor~o:

I( .I....

"'7. Provlae and keep in repair court houacs, jails an8 all nooessary public build- s.ngEL..."

Ron. Stanley Tin?ins; Page 4 Civil Statutes, reierr-

Article 2352, Verticn's reads as follows: iii% to the ccmzisnioners~ ccurt, 'Said court shall have the power to levy and colleot a tax for ocunty puqoees, not to exceed tvmnty-five cents on the one hundred dollars veluetion, and a tax not to exceed fifteen cents on the one hundred dol- lars vuluat:on to suFplet-.ent the jury fund of .the co&&y, and not to exceed fifteen osnts for roads and bridges an the one bun- dred dolllnrs valuation, exaept for the fay- ment of debts incumed prior to the adoption of the emendvent of the %mstitution, S.eptexber 23, A. IL lSS3, and for the exection of publia buildings, st&ets, sewers, water works end other pcmanent in~rovtments, not to exceed twenty-five oents on the one hundred-dollars ,valuation in any one year, and exoegt 80 in the Constitution otherwise provided. They my levy en edditional for road purposes tax not.to exceed fifteen cents on the one hun- dred Iioller valuation of the property subjeot to taxation, under the linitatious and in the namer provided for in ~xticle 6, Sec. 9, of the Constitution and in pursuance of the laws relating thereto."

Vie quote Prm Texas Zurisprudence, Vol. 34, pa@ 2, as follorfs:

w"Fublic buildinSa* is a torn ordin- arily used to designate such struotures a5 the onpitol in the capitol Srounds at Austin, includlnf: the executive mnsion, tho verious &rite asylms, collc~o or

university buildin, erected by the State, oourthousos and jails gnd other buildings held for public use by;nny depaztmnt or bmnch of goircrment, state, county or See ht. 880 Of the ?onnl

nunicipal."

Code, defi.?inS the tem'"publia building".

:ye further quota from Text-s Jurisprudonoe, 'io1. 34, yage 0, nn follows:

Vhe terms 'publio buiidih$ and, 'publio ground~,~ within the Ir;ennins of these panel

Ii88 statutes &ve'alrehd3 been defined (I::).' Ilut, acmrki?,: to the statute, 'The qeci- flc e3umrctionr...shall not 0xcluCo other Ixzlldix~s n5t nmod, properly conk3 w,it'nLr.

t:m :ieni12iy and Cescription of a public buQd:zg.' Z'hs building named - as, for exe.;plo, cxnty Jails - are in tcrss designat- ed fpubllc build::!gs*. And an3 other build- in2 sxmld sea to cane vlt:!in this definition provided~ it is paoparly shvn tii%:t it ia Gsn- ed or cr;ltrolled 2nd held by g~iblio authori- ties icr public use..,." tiee the case or ThuTStc.n 03, Stota, 125 S, Vi. 31,

Tho ~.bov~ +ootsd pmvisiono of t& Coxttitution nnc? statutes authorize the ~~tissioners' CDIIX% to build and.mpriir @~lio bulldln~s a.& the tsra "public bulldiinz" is brom5 '&IOU& to include a 'rrcrehouse ov.~od aad wed ox- clc51v01y by t!le couuty f.-ir the gurpcsos above m.ntio?,od. you are r%3?5CtfU~y CdViS8d that it is our neXefore, opinion t&t the comicsionerti c' court in authorized to repair said warehouse and pay for such inproveznmts out of the pemenent imgrsvezent funds of the county.

Trust& th?.t tha foregoins fully answers your inqiiisy, we remin

Vsry truly yours hrOcl1 :~illiSiils Aaaistant APPROVEDNOV 17, 1939 Ati ) &‘

ATTORNEY GENERAL Oli TEXAS '